Madison boys basketball downs Hudson for 3rd place at SHU

The Madison High School boys basketball team rolled past Hudson 66-39 Saturday in the consolation game of the third annual Siena Heights Holiday Tournament.

Madison (7-1) led 33-25 at the half before exploding in the third quarter, outscoring the Tigers 20-3 and putting the game out of reach.

"I have to give Hudson a lot of credit; they shot very well against us early on," said Madison coach Jeff Webster. "At halftime I challenged the team to keep them under 40 points for the game, and they stepped up. Our defensive intensity picked up and that led to offensive success."

The game started off even. Hudson (1-6), missing its largest forward Justin Boies due to injury, was lacking in height and had to concentrate on shutting down Madison's post players. The Tigers succeeded at that, but were forced to leave Madison's Collin Slates with several open looks behind the arc. Slates made the Tigers pay, hitting three of his five 3-pointers in the first half.

"I thought our 2-3 zone played very well for us," said Hudson coach Wayne Perry. "We were putting bodies on bodies and having some success. Slates really hurt us from outside, though. It was a decision we had to make, and we thought it was better for Madison to shoot a 30-foot shot instead of a 2-foot shot."

Hudson's offense keep pace with the Trojans early on. Hudson was making shots from everywhere on the court, both in the paint and from 3-point range. Hudson only trailed 21-17 after the first.

The second quarter saw both defenses step up. Hudson was able to contest Madison's outside shooting, while the Trojans were able to use their height and reach advantages to smother Hudson's passing lanes. For the first four minutes of the quarter, neither offense was able to develop a rhythm as the two teams combined for just six points. Madison got a bit of a spark as its height advantage came into play again. The Trojans simply began outleaping the Tigers, netting several offensive rebounds that turned into points. The sudden influx of second-chance points allowed the Trojans to pull away as the first half came to an end, leading 33-25.

"I thought we were settling in the first half," he said. "We'd pass it once and take a shot. We didn't work the ball inside and out and it affected the entire offense. We made sure to correct that for the third quarter."

The Trojans certainly corrected it. Madison began to dish the ball to its big men inside, before bouncing it back out the perimeter to Slates. In the first minute alone, Slates hit back-to-back 3s and got Madison rolling. Zach Mellon began to control the glass, grabbing multiple offense rebounds and putting them back in for points.

"The third quarter has been our Achilles heel this tournament," said Perry. "We've been outscored 40-5 in our two games, and you're not going to win too many games when you play like that."

For the Tigers, nothing went right in the third quarter. Hudson struggled to get shots off at all, turning the ball over repeatedly. The Tigers committed four consecutive turnovers at one point, leading to Madison's 17-0 run. It wasn't until the final minute of the quarter, after Madison had already put in their reserves, that Hudson put points on the board.

"Our challenge this year is to maintain that level of defensive intensity for all four quarters," Webster said. "As we move on with our season, we need to see more consistent play from both our offense and our defense. We need 32 minutes on consistency."

Every Madison player scored at least two points as the team cruised to a victory.

Despite being in a deep hole, the Tigers continued to play hard. Cody Nelson caught fire for Hudson in the closing minutes of the half, sinking four 3s as the clock wound down.

Slates led the way for Madison, leading all scorers with 19 points. Mellon posted a double-double for the Trojans, finishing with 12 points and 15 rebounds. Justin Webster had 14 points and four steals, while Prince Benson added four assists.

The Tigers were led by Nelson, who finished with 16 points. Adam Laser-Laughlin had 10 points and four assists, while Dan Komarynski finished with seven points and seven rebounds. Logan Milligan had eight rebounds, while Shay McDaniel added two points, two steals and three assists.

Hudson's Bubba Williams and Mellon were named to the All-Tournament team.